Wendy Marvel, Cold Steel
by Gearbox
Summary: It's post Tenrou Island But not yet at the Arena. A sort side story just before with Wendy's quest to grow stronger, With cold steel on her side she may become powerful enough to be of use. THERE WILL BE BLOOD #noticemesenpai
1. Chapter 1

**Wendy, Cold Steal**

**Light Winds**

**1 **

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"Sky Dragon Roar!" Echoed throughout the woods of Magnolia as a tired little girl fell on her butt exhausted and internally defeated. Her attempt to topple a tree with her Sky Dragon Slayer magic failed. The wind magic, while it was comparable a hurricane wasn't nearly powerful enough yet for what she wanted to accomplish. It was a sunny, cold winter day with not even a hint of natural wind in the air. Stagnant, cold, and bitter. The calmness and silence of woods taunted her.

She hated being alone and being weak, especially after all the training she had put herself through since she joined Fairy Tail, her new magic guild, and home. It's a powerful guild filled with many impressive and determined wizards left her feeling out-of-place, these days however, everyone just talked to her when they needed an injury healed.

Just a few day ago one guild member referred to her as the guild Band-Aid, then went off to rant about how manly injuries are.

All her life she had been abandoned and left alone. By her parents, by her adoptive parent the sky dragon Grandine, by her dear friend Jellal, and forced to watch all her friends from the Cait Shelter guild just vanish into nothing before her eyes one at a time.

Exposing that they were all just illusions in the first place. She had to be strong, or else the world would just eat her up and spit her into the rabble of society…

_No… I won't be weak anymore… I won't be! _ She stood up, tears starting to roll down her cheek and covered in cold sweat. She clenched her hand into a fist forming a gray cloud around it. _This spell will do it. It had better… _She whipped her fist back and slung the ball forward "Sky Dragon Bolt!" The cloud shot at the tree leaving a trail behind it, almost like a comet. It hit the mighty oak tree creating a powerful and windy shockwave around it sending bark and wood chips in all directions. She used a new spell she had learned months ago. Clearly it was very effective.

However when all the snow and wood chips cleared she opened her eyes to see the severely damaged tree still standing, albeit with a large chunk about the size of her missing from its side. "Huh…" The last of her magic for the day, she fell back into the snow, annoyingly on a stick that snapped with her landing.

_I'll never be strong enough to survive any real fights with my friends again.. Take on quests by myself or make it as a wizard apparently. Four months of hard training and my__magic isn't any more powerful. Dammit I've been defeated by oak. A tree. A TREE beat me. I don't know what to do with myself anymore. Maybe I should just lay in the snow forever and become one with the ground. Be defeated by that too, why don't I just die! That way the only person I can disappoint is an undertaker for having to make such a small coffin! _

"DAMMIT!" She screamed tears pouring out like the water around Juvia's apartment every morning.

"The ground looks pretty cold Wendy, brutal."  
_I know that voice._ Her eye's shot open and there he was looking down into her eyes, which had almost swollen with tears of defeat.

_Gajeel!_

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page 1


	2. Chapter 1, Page 2

Light Winds, page 2

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"You know kiddo, you'll never get stronger by just yelling at trees and laying about in the snow. So why are you really out here?" Gajeel was as cold as the winter days, almost as much as Laxus at times. It's no wonder he's made himself into sort of an outcast as well. However unlike most this didn't bother him in the least bit.

Wendy just stared up at him frustrated and pissed off now, had she any energy left, she may have retorted with something.

She had looked up to Gajeel as a wizard more so than anyone else in Fairy Tail, even more so than Erza. Not only because he's a fellow dragon slayer, if that were it Natsu would make a better idle.

No it had to be his ability to hide all his emotions under a steel barrier colder than the thickest ice. She envied him for that.

_Why is he just standing there, looking down at me? Is he mocking my power? Gloating over my failures to train my magic? No he wouldn't do that, even if he is cold as ice, he trains harder than anyone I know! He would understand my struggle! _

"Dammit what do you want Gajeel!"

He closed his eyes and smiled smugly. Wendy's heart to sank a bit_. All right so he is here to make fun of me then. Whatever Gajeel, do your worst I could care less anymore, it's not like any encouraging words would even do anything. I am still tits up in the snow, out of power and beaten by a tree. I bet you are just LOVING this actually. _

"I use to train in these woods a long time ago. Violently swinging iron fists at the base of the oak trees, it didn't work for me either."

Wendy's expressions changed almost instantly, going from crying in anger to shock and maybe a little relief. "Then, how did you become strong Gajeel? I don't think there's anyone in the guild you couldn't beat; I don't believe you couldn't beat. At least if you keep training the way you do with Lilly. How do I become strong?"

"By swallowing your pride just a little. Ask for help."

_Or just by admitting to THAT. What am I doing out here, helping Wendy get on her feet? Why should that matter, there are far more important things on my plate than consoling a crying little girl with abandonment issues. It's not like me, I was once part of the element four! Now I'm puttering around Fairy Tail as a joke, a joke within a joke. Could be worse I guess, I could have taken Master Bob's offer to join Blue Pegasus! 'Men!'_

At that thought Gajeel snapped back to reality and shuddered hard. "Kid just be thankful you don't have to put up with that guild full of actual fairy boys!"

There was an uneasy silence after that outburst for a few seconds.

Wendy now confused broke the silence, "Fairy boys… huh. What do you mean ask for help?"

_Crap, it asks a question… _"You won't get very strong beating up a tree, trees don't fight back, and you need a real opponent. Obviously opponents who won't kill you though, so ask someone to fight you. Train with someone, it's how I became strong, how Natsu and everyone before you got to be where they are now."

_Aside from Romeo there aren't many people in Fairy Tail who wouldn't accidently kill her in training. She's so fragile and small. So was I, maybe a little more brusk than her though. Yeah totally! _

Wendy still had a blank expression, no more tears just amazement now. _Is he really giving me advice, does he actually care about me or does it just inflate his ego showing off his progress. No if it were ego he'd never admit to having asked for help in his training._

"You're going to have to find someone in the guild who will train with you personally. Or hope for the best on quests. Whatever you choose though don't bother me with it, don't really care either which way I just happened to be out on a walk in the woods" _That was a lie and you know it Gajeel, you know full well why you came out here, finding Wendy wasn't just coincidence. Going on a walk even she can see through that bullshit excuse. _

Gajeel thought to himself as he turned to walk away, shivering a bit. Steel scales were rubbish insulation.

"Help me then! If you actually know so much!" _Dammit I have too big a mouth without Carla around! _

Gajeel snapped his head nearly 180 degrees in shock to hear Wendy say something so, bold.

The silence came back with a vengeance, eye contact and all.

_Did she not hear what I said about not bothering me? _

Wendy internally panicked during the silence._That's it I'm a dead girl. Might as well start digging my grave now. Maybe he'll be kind enough to make an iron shovel to help with it…_


End file.
